Retreading mold



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RRTREADT NG MOLD Filed Feb. 24, 192s INVE TOR ZEHowll GESap/a Patented Sept. @1927.

UNITED sixarlzgs JOHN n.- nownLL Nn Grenen' n. sarnor' s'acnmnnro, amounts.

` RETBEADING MOLD.

l appntauon med February a4, 1926.V serial No. 90,271.

This invention; lates toimprovements in steam heated fmol" s used in the automobile tire industry in connection with retreading operations.

' With the' is only possibleto tread one-third 'or onefourth oit-he circumference of the tire at one time, and various shiftings of the tire for the purp in .the mold must therefore be made before the job is completed. f The principal object of our invention yjthereicire is to provide a'continuous mold so Ithat the entire circumference of a tire may be treaded at one time. By reason of'this construction the tire does not have to be shifted when once in place in the mold, and when removed from the moldV the tire'is in a finished condition throughout.

It will therefore be evident that. the time of retreading operations is lessened considerably and three tires can be wholly retreaded with one of our molds in the same time 'necessary to retread only a single tireuwithl the ordinary mold.

Afurther object of the invention is to varrange a mold structure so that large tires of relatively sti and inexible nature can be easilyl placed in the mold Without destroyg t e tire o A r Wit-hout undue physical effort.

to enable the necessary clamps to be all applied while in the most convenient position. A further. object ofthe invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly eective ose for which it is designed. Theseobjects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will lfully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims. In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe several views: f

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our improved mold as made for large tires, showing the mold sections partially separated to permit of the insertion of the tire.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the mold sec- -tions in their closed position and the clamps applied.

ig. 3 is a top section oni-the line 3*-73 of justing leveling screw.

form of mold at present used it' further object is to arrange the mold so 'that it is supported in a turnable manner,

threaded t V 5 is a `side'elevation of a mold of con-i tinuous and unbroken construction for use with .small and easily flexed or collapsed tires. j

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, and

particularlyat present to Figs. 1 to 4, the mold comprlses two semi-circular sections 1 and 2 arranged 1n opposed and alined relation to eachother to form a complete circle.

Each section is formed with a deep periph-v eral groove 3 on its inner faceto receive and lseat the tread portion 4 of a tire 5 therein I as usual.` These sections also have circular steam chambers extending from of any possible wear df the link pins, an ad- 8v is inounted between the links at one 'end thereof beyond the adjacent pivotal-pin to bear against the outer face of the ad'acent mold section.

Luge 9 project outwardly from the sections at the ends thereof `opposite to the links, a ri ht and left hand screw 10 being rough the lugs to enable the sectiors to be separated or closed together at wil l A .steam intake pipe 11 with a valve 12 inter osed therein 1s connected to the steam cham er -6 of the section 1 adjacent one end thereof; and a drain-pipe 13 with a, valve 14 yinter osed therein is connectedto said steam- -cham er. adjacent its other lend. A flexible steam hose V15 extends between .the steamchambersof the two sections at one end; while a similar hose 16 leads from the pipe 13 between the valve 14 and the section 1f to the adjacent end of the steam chamber of section. 2. Detachable 4connection between the pipes 11 and 13beyond the valves and the main steam pi es 17 and 18 respectively is had by 'means o unions 19 a plied to the adjacent ends of the correspon mg palrs of pi es. n v ugs 20 project outwardly from both slidesv of the mold sections at intervals to .engage the hooked ends of the usual clamp yokes 1 which straddle the sections inwardly of the l same and have centrally disposed screws 22 to project into the grooves 3 of the mold sections. j To .support the mold structure in a turnable manner we provide a vertical supporting frame 23 of suitable character arranged as a supporting unit or to be secured against a wall or other permanent part of the shop as may he desired. The support carries a horizontal spindle 24 which passes through the hub 25 of a spider having radial arms 26. Certain ones of these arms are permanently secured onto the section 1 on one'side there.-

of, while the other spider arm 26 has a 'y slot 27 concentric with the center of turning of the section 2 on its, hinge links. A pin 28 mounted in the side of the section 2 adjacent the spider rides in the slot 27.

In operation the unions 19 are disconnected and the sections are separated by turning the screw 10 sufficient to enable a tire to pass between the sections 1 and.2 from the outer faces thereof with but little if any distortion .of the tire. The sections are then closed up by turning the screw 10 in the opposite direction.'

A continuous heavy rubber pad or link 29 is then placed inside the tire, on which pad are placed bands 30 of spring steel arranged to form a continuous link. The lowermost clamps are then applied, and the moldv unit is then rotated on the spindle 24 to enable the other clamps to be applied to the then lowermost ones of the lugs 20; the rotation v being carried on intermittently until all the clamps have been applied.

The unions 19 of the cooperating pipes 11 i' and 17 13 and 18 are then coupled up and steam is admitted into the steam chambers 6 for the time necessary to accomplish thedesired results.

The operations above described are then reversed to enable the tire to be removed.

In the ty e of device shown in Fig. 5 the mold is in he form of a single unbroken ,cylindrical ring 31, into the tire seating groove of which the tire 32 is forced by is'tcrting said tire as indicated in dotted lines. This mold is also mounted on a turnable spider 33,- all the arms of which are of course rigidly fixed to the mold. The steam pipe connections 34 of this mold are also detachable so as to enable the mold to be rotated for the same purpose as described in I connection with the double section mold.

i From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such 'a device assubstantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While thisspecification sets forth in detailthe present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations invention, as defined by the appended claims'.

Having thus described our invention what" We claim as new and useful and desire secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tire vulcanizing mold comprising hol'- low sections to completely surround a tire, means connecting the sections and supporting one from the other toeliable them to be separated or brought together'at will, and supporting means securedl to only one section, said means being turnable axially of said section.

2. A tire vulcanizing mold including hollow sections' to completely surround a tire, hinge means connecting the sections at adjacent ends,said hinge means comprising side links onto which the sections are separately pivoted, and an adjustable screw mounted on the links Aand bearing against the outer periphery of one sectio v3. A, tirejvulcanizing mold comprising a ringflike structure to completely surround a tire and provided with a circumferential groove in its inner periphery to receive the tread portion of a tire, a fixed spindle supported only at one end, and a spider turnable on the spindle and connected to oneside of' the4 structure.

4. A tire vulcanizin'g mold comprising will, a spider `fixed only onto one section,

and a horizontal spindle ,for said spider disposed concentric with said section andsupported only at one end. y

. 5. A tire vulcanizmg mold comprising hollow sections to completely surround `a tire,

lmeans connecting the sections to enable them to be separated or brought together at will, s

a spider fixed only onto one section, means for supporting said spider, and means between the spider and the other section for limiting the separating movement of the sections.

6. AA .tire vulcanizing mold comprising hollow sections to surround a tire, pivot means connecting the sections at one end to enable them to be separated or brought together at will, a spider fixed only onto one section, means for supporting-the spider, an

arm projecting from the spider past and adjacent the other section, said arm havin a slotconcentric with the pivot means, an a pin projecting fromthe said other section and riding in the slot.

tures.

JOHN E. HOWELL, GEORGE- E. SAPI.

j. 1n testimony whereofwe affix oui` signa- 

